


Psychological analysis of how and why MCU Doctor Strange is uncomfortable with unexpected physical affection.

by startrekfan



Series: Doctor Strange Metas [24]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Doctor Strange (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Analysis, Canon, Character Analysis, Gen, Headcanon, Meta, Psychology, linking the facts, psychologic analysis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 02:03:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14906325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekfan/pseuds/startrekfan





	Psychological analysis of how and why MCU Doctor Strange is uncomfortable with unexpected physical affection.

### He’s kinda shocked when he’s hugged by the family of the man he took a bullet out of his head. He tells the Cloak to stop drying his tears.

Along the movies we get to see Stephen's behavior about physical affection and he seems to feel so defensive and uncomfortable about it, let me say THAT IS TYPICAL FOR PEOPLE WHO WENT THROUGH SOME KIND OF ABUSE DURING THEIR CHILDHOOD (physical or/and emotional).  
Basically, I believe Strange has this personal space bubble. He avoids physical contact and he’s definitively not used to receiving it from people he doesn’t trust. Every time it’s about physical contact, the pace has to be slow, he doesn’t like being touched. HE DOESN’T LIKE BEING TOUCHED UNLESS HE FEELS 100% SAFE ABOUT IT and that’s so typical of child abuse it HURTS.  
Of course he’s this cold, distant man, but still, this “running away from being touched” thing is so strong in Stephen Strange. I mean, most people would hug someone naturally in the “patient family thanking you” scenario because there is a reason of why the person wants to hug you, and it’s a form of gratitude, but even so, Stephen is absolutely uncomfortable about it.

We tend to use our body to establish “barriers” to defend our emotions. That’s why we often place “barriers” between us and someone who is making us uncomfortable, like crossing our arms, hugging an object close or even touching our lips and covering our mouth. In Stephen’s case, he doesn’t even resort to that kind of behavior, he simply DOES HIS BEST TO AVOID THE TOUCHING, and that’s a very bad indicator.   
I mean, even someone cold, arrogant and hard to deal with wouldn’t react as awkwardly to a hug. You might be thinking a shy person would! Yes, sure, but Stephen ISN’T SHY. He’s clearly extroverted, he thinks in an extroverted way, he interacts with others and the environment with extroverted thoughts. Of course he’s reserved, but he doesn’t face the problems introspective people normally do and that’s another bad indicator, it makes him being uncomfortable towards physical contact even more “off”.

If I consider all the psychology things I study, man, Stephen probably INDEED had a very traumatizing childhood. It’s not normal to be so easily annoyed by touching the way he is, SPECIALLY ABOUT AFFECTION.  
Most people feel good about friendly, positive hugs and affection, but Stephen is so uncomfortable with it. He only seems comfortable when Christine is the once touching him and even so, she’s so gentle, as if she knew how to touch him without making him uncomfortable (well, they were lovers, she probably knows).

Stephen behaves not as if he didn’t like affection, but as if he felt attacked by it, meaning, attacked my being touched, and this is another bad indicator, because we’re talking about affectionate touches. Following my logic, if he behaves so defensively towards “affection” and “touching”, it’s because he had bad experiences that had to do with “affection” and “touching” when his personality was still forming (child to teenager), and well, we can already see where that is going to, right? It makes the feels about Strange even more angsty. 

Another point: he’s EASILY OFFENDED. Not like normal people, his shit is INTENSE. He gets really pissed when someone offends his pride somehow. He doesn’t react like normal people react. His stare gets intense, he shows his teeth, he frowns, his voice changes, as if his body was preparing itself to fight. In other words, he’s too defensive when someone humiliates him, even in the slightest way. That doesn’t mean he will harm the person, normally not since Stephen hates conflict, but still, it’s an unconscious reaction. Behaviors like this normally indicate the person used to be humiliated and/or emotionally abused during childhood. It’s not a 100% rule, but normally very spot on. The abuse could happen at school (bullying) or at home, and considering Stephen grew up in a farm, during his early childhood it was just him and his close family, meaning that any kind of abuse he might have suffered came from there.

And to screw things EVEN MORE, Stephen also has other signs such as a strong tendency to addiction. He got addicted to his job, then when he lost his job (comic canon) he got addicted to alcohol, until he found a way to control his inner anxiety better. He also shows signs of compulsion (it’s a way for our brain to cope with constant anxiety, when there’s no clear reason, normally it’s about a trauma or a bad memory or fact about ourselves), his compulsion being spending money as soon as he gets.

To close our angst bingo, he has INTENSE FEAR OF MISSING. It’s not normal, not the level of fear he shows. I mean, he could have become a brilliant doctor  by greed or pride, but he got so far because he was afraid to miss, like the Ancient One said. Such strong aspect about someone’s personality normally is defined during childhood, and this is another bad indicator of how he probably used to be severely punished every time he missed when he was a kid.

Guys please comment and tell me what you think about this, it’s important <3


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